The Bretonnian Crusades (Version 1.0.1) (Single-player Only)

The Bretonnian Crusades provides several new mechanics for the Bretonnians. All playable Bretonnian races, including those in Mixus lord packs gain the new crusade mechanic, where the player can choose to call a crusade against an enemy faction which they are currently at war with. In addition the legendary lords Louen Leoncouer, Alberic de Bordeleaux and The Fay Enchantress have their own unique mechanics.

Louen has access to a new resource called Esteem. This is gained from winning battles and can be spent to increase the fealty of the other Bretonnian realms in the new ‘Fealty to the King’ screen. There are 10 upgrade paths, each representing a Bretonnian faction on the Mortal Empires map. The player can choose to spend their Esteem points to unlock the bonuses along each path. Each path has 4 tiers to unlock.

Each faction increases the Armour, and Melee Attack, Melee Defence or Weapon Damage of either lords or paladins. When tier 4 is reached the player also gains +3 to recruit rank for either lords or paladins. In addition each faction conveys a unique bonus as follows:

• Bordeleaux provides additional income from ports at tier 2 and above.
• Carcassonne provides starting winds of magic from tier 1.
• Chevalier De’Lyonesse provides additional Morale when fighting undead at tier 2 and above.
• Artois provides increased ambush defence chance at tiers 3 and 4.
• Bastonne provides Fire resistance for Knights at tier 2 and above.
• Lyonesse provides additional income from trade from tier 1.
• Parravon provides reduced upkeep for Pegasus Knights at tiers 3 and 4.
• Knights of Origo reduces the construction cost of buildings from tier 1.
• Thegan’s Crusaders increases the public order across your lands from tier 1.
• Knights of the Flame increases the gold earned after battles at tier 2 and above.

In addition to the bonuses for the individual factions there are two bonuses based on the lowest tier of the unlocked upgrade paths. So if you have only half of the factions at tier 1 then no bonus is applied, if you get all factions at or above tier 1 then a bonus to diplomacy with all Bretonnian factions is applied, and additional chivalry per turn is gained. The higher the tier of all the factions, the larger the diplomacy and chivalry bonuses.

Alberic has his own unique mechanic which revolves around the split faith of the people of Bordeleaux. By expanding his holdings the player can unlock bonuses to infantry, knights and settlements. Each bonus is tied to either Manann or the Lady of the Lake, and as the player invests in bonuses on either side the balance of faith will tip toward one or the other.

The balance then dictates the bonuses or penalties applied to the new Manann’s Guard and Lady’s Champions units, altering their Upkeep, Melee attack, Melee defence and Physical resistance.

The Fay Enchantress has a new mechanic that allows her to unlock army abilities for use by her armies in battle. Every 10 turns the next tier of abilities is opened and the player is provided points to spend towards unlocking new spells or upgrading existing ones. There are 11 tiers that provide a maximum of 22 points, to spend across 25 spells and upgrades.

At each tier the player can choose to upgrade a previously unlocked spell, or to unlock an addition use, or to unlock a different spell from those available.

The new crusades mechanic is the core of the mod, and is made up of several aspects. Firstly there is the calling of crusades. A player can only call a crusade against a faction that they are at war with, where their rivalry value has reached a high enough level to warrant a crusade. The crusade costs gold to initiate, with additional gold per turn for the crusade upkeep.

The rivalry between the player’s faction and the other races is affected by being at war and the battles fought. The more conflict between the races, the higher the rivalry will climb. The level will decline over time back to the base level for the race when at peace. Given the history of Bretonnia with the Greenskins and the Vampire Counts their rivalry value start quite high, so the road to a crusade is shorter.

When a crusade is called the player has 8 turns to either occupy the targeted settlement, or raze it to the ground. A successfull crusade will unlock the errantry banner related to the race of the faction that was targeted, and will provide some chivalry. A Failed crusade results in a loss of a sizable amount of chivalry. Once a crusade is completed then another can not be called for at least 10 turns.

The errantry banner unlocked provides bonuses to units and can be upgraded by chivalry. There are three tiers, each costing more chivalry but providing greater bonuses. There are 20 banners to collect and upgrade.

Alongside the crusades and errantry banners there are the Virtues. As the player completes crusades and upgrades banners they gain points to unlock new virtues which provide bonuses to crusades, cheaper banner upgrades, additional chivalry per turn and army abilities. There are 6 virtues to unlock throughout the campaign. This system is also used to unlock a free crusade army, which increases in strength as more virtues are unlocked.

The Bows of Shallya are a new ranged unit available from Couronne once the settlement reaches tier 3. They have magical bows and are more powerful than standard archers. This unit gains bonuses from the red-line skills just like bowmen, but also gains additional bonuses as the settlement of Couronne reaches tiers 4 and 5.

The Order of the Scorpion is a left over from the mechanic that I was going to implement for Repanse. There are 8 settlements throughout the lands of the Tomb Kings in which the order can be found. If the player captures these settlements they can build the new chapter houses for the order, allowing them to recruit Scorpion Swords and Scorpion Knights. These units do not gain red-line skills, but instead are upgraded as the player captures all of the settlements where the order exists.

This has been left in as Repanse’s mechanic will eventually involve these settlements and units.

This mod requires the UI Modding Framework to function correctly. Thanks to Vanishoxyact for their work on this handy framework.

See the KNOWN ISSUES + RESOLUTIONS pinned discussion

Thanks to Cody Bonds for the models for the Bows of Shallya, the Manann Guard and the Lady’s Champions. Thanks to my Youtube community for the names of the errantry banners, and thanks to the fine minds over at the modding discord.

SFO Submod
Mixu’s Lords Submod
Bretonnian Brigands Submod
Crusaders of Bretonnia Submod
Dukes of Bretonnia Submod
Lily’s Overhaul & Loreful Units Submod